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Posts posted by Fbuchner23

Holy smokes......It's been over 2 months since my initial post on this thread. I am happy to say that a large chunk of my money has been finally moved to my new Fidelity account.

Fidelity was great to work with. My former provider (Security Benefit) was a pain to work with and made things difficult. My third party provider was not as helpful as I had hoped. They helped to answer questions but there was nothing they really did to help make the transfer any easier. I thought they would be more helpful and do most of the work for me. Not the case at all.

I was able to transfer $55,000 out as "free money". The remainder would incur the rolling surrender charge. I stopped contributions to Security Benefit and moved those to Fidelity. My plan is to check back in with Security Benefit and have them run my "free money" numbers and repeat this process for the next few years until the surrender charges make sense or I just get tired of getting all of the signatures needed.

The process is a pain and takes much longer than I anticipated but worth it in the end and should get easier now that I know exactly what to do. Future years will be a rinse and repeat cycle.

I really appreciate the responses on this thread and can't thank krow36 enough for your insight and suggestions. You were a huge help and you were spot on with your advice.

That makes me feel a little better. I still think these expense fees are high and I can do better.

I contacted Fidelity and can't really get much info on their 457 account until I actually open up an account which seems weird. I just wanted to find out fee information and my options for investments. That information would be helpful to make sure I was making a move towards lower fees. Any suggestions on how to handle this hurdle?

The name of my plan with Security Benefit is "Security Benefit Advisor Retirement Program - Option 7". I have my statement and the quarterly performance results. I can cross reference those two documents to find the expense ratio for each of the funds. How would I find out if there are load fees? What about commissions? Any other fees I should try and find?

Because of these fees, do I still open the account with Fidelity and start my contributions with them. Then transfer whatever $$ I can without incurring surrender fees and then repeat the process every year until all of my money is moved over? Depending on my total fees, I might be able to break even after year 5 assuming the difference between the Fido charges and SB charges are around 2%?

I am a 40 year old teacher with 18 years of service. I started a 457 plan with Security Benefit 14 years ago. I currently have roughly 80K in the account. I have been trying to research a little more recently and I would love to convert the 457 into a 403(b) and invest with Vanguard (my district uses them as a provider) to keep my fees as low as possible. Based on what I can see, that isn't an option for me. My only real option if I am unhappy with my current 457 is to roll it into another sponsored plan through my district. I have a few questions:

1 - Is what I am stating above true? 457 to 403(b) rollover is not an option?
2 - How can I determine ALL of the fees associated with my security benefit plan? My quarterly statement shows an "Asset Based Fee" which breaks down to roughly .25%. I have read that 403(b) and 457 accounts can have hidden fees. How would I find load fees, maintenance fees, etc.?
3 - Based on your knowledge or experience what plan would you recommend for me to roll my investment into. My district sponsored plans are here: https://tdsplans.org/forms_PD.aspx?orgID=5653
I am leaning towards Fidelity based on what I have researched. I am confirming with my current provider that there will be no surrender fees.
4 - Finally, would you recommend I explore any other options? Stop contributing to my current 457 and open a 403(b) with Vanguard? Explore a IRA or Roth IRA? Any other suggestions or things I should consider?